I Wanted You, You Didn't Want Me
by OliviaR5Warbler
Summary: Siobhan Tilly returns from being deep undercover in Section 31 to find out her daughter has been reverted to her childhood form and aware of her father's identity.


Just over a year after Tilly woke up in the mind and body of her younger self her life on Discovery was going great. Since the ship had been designed around her father's research, and they very much wanted to keep him there, they let Tilly remain with him and his husband aboard. Star Fleet provided a tutor for her studies and she was doing better in school than she had the first-time round, with no bullies to knock her confidence or teacher's with large class sizes to accommodate for. Captain Pike had returned to the Enterprise, leaving Saru to finally take his rightful place as Captain aboard the Discovery.

Michael was on the bridge when they got a hail from Section 31, now headed by the former Terran Emperor. She requested that she and another member of Section 31 to be able to beam over on a personal matter. Saru granted permission, seeing no reason to deny her. Saru greeted them in the transporter room, Georgiou and another woman who looked vaguely familiar, though he couldn't place her. "Captain," Georgiou greeted and gestured to the other woman, "this is Siobhan, I believe you are familiar with her daughter, Sylvia Tilly. She just returned from a deep undercover mission and wishes to reconnect with her daughter."

Saru swallowed, "I see, please, come this way, there is much to talk about ahead of the reunion," he said, leading them to his ready-room, where he left them, making his way to engineering. He found Paul in the Cultivation Bay, tending to his plants.

"Captain," Paul nodded, finishing his scans. "What can I do for you?"

"Something has come up, regarding Tilly, a rather personal matter," Saru began, "her mother is here."

"Siobhan? How is that possible?" Paul asked, as far as he or Tilly knew she hadn't been seen since the war and was likely dead.

Saru considered how to explain the situation, in the end he went with two words: "Section 31."

Paul was torn, he felt he should inform Tilly, but first, he needed to investigate her mother's intentions. Saru removed Georgiou from the equation, leaving Paul to go in alone. Arriving in the ready-room he was shocked silent for a moment as Siobhan stood and turned to face him. Her smile faded upon realising he wasn't Tilly. Recognition flashed over her well-schooled features, "Paul Stamets, as I live and breathe."

"Siobhan, I could say the same about you."

"Where's my daughter Paul? Come to tell me she's too busy working on your Spore Drive?"

"We need to talk, Siobhan, about _our_ daughter," shock graced her features, "oh yes, I said 'our,' I know, Siobhan."

"How?"

"Well my first clue was when she first set foot in my Spore Drive, she looked remarkably like you, save her hair, of course," he referred to Tilly's wild hair that had taken him and Hugh the better part of a year to learn to tame properly. "Then I found out her birthday, not hard math, then a DNA test sealed the deal. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Paul, what exactly would you have done if I had? Co-parenting? I couldn't see it. It would have destroyed your career and likely grounded you and your research."

"That wasn't your call to make," he said.

"Where is _my_ daughter Paul?"

"Our daughter," he began, "is with her tutor. There was an incident, about a year and a half ago. She got de-aged. Physically and mentally, Sick-Bay tried everything, nothing could stop it. It- Whatever it was, adapted her memories, she thinks she's been with me since you disappeared. Where have you been?"

"Deep undercover with Section 31. Need to know only."

"She tried reaching out to you, she was desperate, she was scared, she wanted you. You never responded."

"I was undercover Paul. Section 31 does things differently, Sylvia was better off thinking I was missing. I want to see her," she said forcefully.

"I'll need to brief her," Siobhan scoffed, "she's seven years old," he snapped, "and she thinks you're dead, you can't just walk up to her. I'll talk to her after school and I ask, no I beg you, don't approach her." Siobhan considered his words, pursed her lips and nodded. Paul alerted the Captain to their agreement, should she go back on it, which he suspected she might. He also alerted Hugh over lunch, who was also suspicious. He escorted Tilly back to their quarters hurriedly that evening, avoiding any possible meeting.

"Something's wrong," Tilly said over dinner, perceptive as ever. Paul sighed, laying down his cutlery. "What is it?"

Paul took a deep, steadying breath, Hugh took his hand and squeezed it. "It's about your mother," Paul began.

"Is she dead? Did they find her?"

"No, sweetie, she's not dead. She's on the ship and would like to see you."

"Oh," Tilly put down her fork. She and Lindsay had spoken about her mother and her disappearance at length in their sessions. They briefly covered the possibility of her coming back, but it was all speculative.

"You don't have to, if you don't want to," Hugh told her, "but the choice is yours."

Tilly was quiet for a long time as she considered. "I think I want to talk to Dr Lindsay first," she told them. Hugh said he'd arrange it when he went to Lindsay that evening and they finished their dinner with little talking. Stamets read to Tilly from a book he downloaded to her PADD when he put her to bed. Hugh arrived home as he closed the door to her room.

"Lindsay said they can talk about it at her session tomorrow after her tutor is done."

"Thank you," Paul fell back onto the couch, summoning a holo-vid to play as background noise as he picked up his PADD, filling Saru in. Hugh joined him, leaning against his husband, "how was your session?"

"It was good, we talked about me going back on full shift rotation. I've completed my re-training, Tracy says I can go full-time when I'm ready."

"And do you feel ready?"

"I don't know. I've waited for this, for so long and now the chance is there… I don't want to screw up my shot."

"You won't," Paul assured him, "you've worked incredibly hard to get back to this point, you've earned this shot." Paul lowered his lips to Hugh's. "I have faith in you," he added softly.

The next day Paul ran interference with Siobhan, so she couldn't see Tilly before her session with Lindsay. Tilly was so nervous she could barely focus on her schoolwork, her tutor called it a half-day. Tilly was in no way fit to learn that day. Lindsay could see the anxiety on Tilly's face the moment she arrived in the office.

"Let's talk about your mom," she said, "what're your memories of her?"

"Current time or my dream memories?"

"Both; let's start with current."

"I don't remember much. I remember saying goodbye when I was maybe four or five when she dropped me at the junior academy when she got assigned. That's about it. I was sad. Her emotions I can't read."

Lindsay nodded, "what about your dreams?" Tilly's dreams were a window into her past life. She experienced things, sometimes wonderful, other times frightening. She discussed them all with Lindsay.

"I had one last night. About her."

"What happened?"

"It was like, a lot of communications. As I grew up and a few times seeing her face to face. Not a lot of it was nice." Tilly said, she'd brought Bowie, her stuffed dog with her today, she hadn't brought him along in months, she hugged him tighter as she spoke. "First, they were about my grades, then as I got older, more about me. My hair, grades again, she just kept pushing me. The last thing she told me about was Discovery and how she'd pulled strings to get me a cadetship here." Having seen all of Tilly's files Lindsay assured her that was in no way true. Tilly had earned her place on the Discovery and no one could dispute that. "I don't think she was very nice a lot of the time."

They spoke for a long time, running over, which was fine as Tilly was usually the last person Lindsay would see and it was clear she needed to talk things through. Paul was in the waiting room when they had finished, he smiled at Tilly, "hey kiddo, how're you feeling?"

"Better," she turned to Lindsay and thanked her, "I'd like to see my mom tomorrow."

"I'll let her know."

"You- you won't leave me alone with her, will you?" Tilly asked, shakily.

Paul stopped in his tracks, faced his daughter and went down on his knees. "Absolutely not. Not unless you ask me to leave. We do this on your terms. How you want it to go down."

"Thanks daddy," Tilly said, surging forwards she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

"You don't need to thank me, I'm your father, it's my job to make you feel safe." He whispered, holding her against him. He pulled back and carried her home. Hugh had agreed to take his first full shift rotation and was still in Sick-Bay. Paul and Tilly watched a movie with pizza until Tilly fell asleep. Paul tucked her in, pressed a kiss to her hair and whispered that he loved her. Sleep didn't come easy for Paul, he was still awake when Hugh came home.

"What're you still doing up?" Hugh asked, climbing into the other side of bed.

"Couldn't sleep. She wants to see Siobhan tomorrow. But, she doesn't want to be left alone with her." The door to their room slid open to reveal a tired looking Tilly, rubbing her eye and holding Bowie.

"Daddy can I get in with you?" She asked, Paul looked to Hugh who lifted up the covers.

"Climb on in baby-girl," he said softly. Tilly fell asleep quickly between them, neither of them moved her back to her own room tonight, they figured she needed them.

Hugh, who had the morning off, bathed Tilly and helped her get ready to see her mom. He was worried about her. Tilly never really cared what he or Paul did with her hair, but this morning she was obsessing over it. He'd never seen this side of her. In the end she sighed, defeated and asked him for two pigtails. Her hair wasn't complying with what she wanted. Paul returned from checking the Cultivation Bay to take Tilly to see her mom.

As they got closer to the room Saru had given them for this meeting Tilly's anxiety grew and she squeezed Paul's hand tighter. Stopping before the door he knelt down to her, brushing some stray hair out of her face. "I'm not going anywhere, I'll be with you the whole time," he reminded her, she nodded. "Think of a word," he told her, "think of a word that means you want to leave. If you want to leave at any point, use the word in a sentence and I'll say we have to go." He gave her a minute to think, "what's it gonna be?"

"Grape gum."

Paul nodded, drew her into a hug and whispered reassuringly that it would be OK. Siobhan was already in the room, waiting, as was Saru, who she had been talking to. Siobhan stood as they entered, surprise on her face as she saw Tilly, she didn't know what she was expecting but she realised nothing she could have imagined could have prepared her for this. Paul put an encouraging hand on Tilly's shoulder, edging her forward. Tilly walked cautiously towards her mother who fell to her knees. "Sylvia," she whispered. Tilly bit her lip, the name felt foreign to her now.

"I, um, I go by Tilly now. I changed my name," Tilly told her, biting her lip. "Sylvia's my middle name now." She added hastily, sensing disapproval.

Her mother pursed her lips before settling into a smile. She ran a finger through her hair and sighed, "oh this thing, never could tame it on your own, could you?"

Tilly scowled and stepped back, "that's not very nice." Paul raised his eyebrows at Siobhan, indicating Tilly was right and he wasn't about to step in and defend her words.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I can't believe this, my little girl is back," Siobhan opened her arms slightly, wanting to hug Tilly. Tilly looked to her father who smiled, encouraging. Tilly accepted the hug, in her previous life she'd craved these, now, in this one it felt odd.

Saru left, leaving Siobhan, Tilly and Paul together. Paul sat down at the back of the room, waiting for Tilly. He pulled up and article on his PADD to give them some privacy. Siobhan seemed rather hands on, she always had an arm around Tilly or to be touching her in some way. Tilly constantly found herself moving away from her mom. She just wanted to talk. She also found herself correcting the name she was being called by her mother.

Paul looked up as he heard Siobhan tell Tilly off. "Stop that."

"It itches," Tilly pushed out of her mom's grasp and hurried over to her daddy. Paul held her arm, it bared a faint rash, made redder by Tilly scratching it. "Daddy it won't stop."

"Siobhan what're your clothes made of?"

"Federation standard materials."

Paul sighed, "she's allergic," he said. "Come on, let's get you to Sick-Bay, try not to scratch it sweetie, I know it's hard." Siobhan was shocked; meanwhile Paul was wondering how could she have forgotten this? She moved to go with them, but Paul held up a hand, pushing Tilly behind him, "if you want to do something to help go shower and put on the provided clothes in your quarters, they were provided for this very reason," he said firmly, giving her no room to argue. Paul called ahead to Sick-Bay on his COMM, letting them know Tilly was on her way down.

When they arrived, Paul lifted her onto the bio-bed and a nurse brought over a hypo for her. "This will help with the rash," she explained. Tilly squeezed Paul's hand as she was injected, she didn't like injections. "All done, I'll go get you a cream that'll sooth the itching," she brought the cream over and instructed Paul on how much to apply and how often. "The hypo may make her drowsy, so take it easy for today Tilly."

Paul took Tilly home just as Hugh was leaving for his shift. Tilly went straight to her room to get Bowie before summoning the holo-screen. Paul quickly filled Hugh in before sitting beside Tilly on the couch as she searched for a movie to watch. He opened his PADD to fill in Saru and finish reading the article. Tilly scooted closer to him, leaning against him as she watched. He made Tilly an early dinner given she could barely keep her eyes open and she spent the afternoon colouring with Bowie and Paul. They both looked up as someone knocked at the door to their quarters.

Paul answered, it was Siobhan. "Now isn't a good time," he said.

"No, I understand, I came to apologise, I should have worn the provided clothing. Is she OK?"

"She's drowsy from the hypo, we have a cream to sooth the itching." He told her. Paul stepped out and let the doors to their quarters close behind him. "What were you thinking?"

"I wasn't. It was stupid of me."

"Siobhan, I need to ask, what's your endgame here? Why now?"

"I came to reconnect with my daughter, I'm retiring from Section 31 and taking a teaching position at the Academy. Given Tilly's situation I may ask her to come with me."

"Are you out of your mind? She barely knows you in this timeline."

"I have time before I have to go, we could get to know each other. Paul, you can't possibly think this is the best place for her?"

"Why not? This is a science and research ship, it's hardly a war ship anymore. She knows people here, she's comfortable, she has a tutor and she's doing better in her education than she did the first time around."

"Paul, what do you know about raising a little girl?"

"I've learned and I'm learning, nobody knows how to raise kids, it's trial and error." Siobhan had no argument. "Look, I don't want to fight with you, as far as I'm aware we parted on good terms. But don't put your needs above hers because while I'll leave it to her to choose, I'll fight for her decision to the ends of the Galaxy. Goodnight Siobhan." Paul returned to the table with Tilly. They were quiet for a while, engrossed in the colouring.

"Daddy."

"Yes sweetheart?"

"For the record, I want to stay here with you," she told him, meeting his eyes. Paul smiled.

"Alright, you don't have to go anywhere you don't want to. I promise." Tilly smiled at him.

"Can we read before bed? I'm tired."

"Sure, you go ahead and get changed, I'll put these away." Tilly left the table, taking Bowie with her. Paul waited until her door was closed to run his fingers through his hair, frustrated. He put the colours back into the box and sealed it before collecting up their drawings, flicking through Tilly's with a smile. He paused on one of himself, her and Hugh. He looked over to their pinboard and grinned, she'd been drawing their shore-leave pictures from before she had de-aged. Taking a pin, he pinned it beside the photograph and put the others in her folder.

Paul read from a book on his PADD until Tilly was sound asleep. Pressing a kiss to her hair he dimmed the lights and tucked her in with a kiss. Returning to the couch he decided to catch up on some research he was working on. He was trying to get the moon they'd terraformed a few years ago for the Mycelium made a protected moon. He had no reason to believe they would deny his request, but he wanted to send in some extensive research, so they had no grounds to deny, even if they wanted to.

Hugh returned an hour after the sleep cycle had begun to find Paul still working. Unzipping the front of his uniform he stood behind Paul at the table and gently put his hands on Paul's shoulders, leaning down to kiss his cheek. "You're up late."

"Yeah, couldn't settle."

"Did something else happen?"

"Siobhan dropped by again. I asked her why now and she said she's leaving Section 31 for a teaching position at the Academy. She told me she wants to take Tilly with her," Paul put down his PADD. "I told her that while I'll let Tilly choose I'll fight for her choice, no matter what."

"Did Tilly hear this?"

"Unfortunately. She did tell me she wants to stay here with us. Which gives me something to work with but I'm worried what Siobhan might do, she called our ability to parent a little girl into question, the nerve." Paul rolled his eyes. "How was your shift? How're you feeling being back?"

"It's brilliant, everything I remember. Thank you for encouraging me to take the plunge. I needed that push." Hugh leaned across the space between them to kiss Paul. Paul kissed him back, Hugh moved closer, Paul pulled him over onto his lap, continuing their kiss. "Let's go to bed," Hugh whispered.

"Mmm, I'm not that sleepy."

"Good, me either," Hugh put his hand over Paul's on his waist and took it in his. Standing from Paul's lap he pulled him to their room.

Paul woke before the end of the sleep cycle. He could hear movement outside their room. Upon investigation he found Tilly in her pyjamas eating cereal and watching holo-cartoons. Confirming she didn't need help he returned to bed where Hugh moved closer to him, still sleeping. "Morning," he breathed against Paul's shoulder.

"Morning, you should rest up more for your shift."

"Today's my day off, I've been put back on my old rotation." Paul nodded.

"If Siobhan- If Tilly agrees to see Siobhan again, will you go with her? She didn't want me to leave yesterday and-" Hugh cut him off with a peck on the lips.

"Of course I will," he assured Paul. "I won't let anything happen to her." They were interrupted by Paul's alarm. The timing wasn't perfect, but he and a small group were going down to the moon today to collect samples and check the health of the Mycelium. Paul went to shower while Hugh went to get breakfast ready for him. "Morning baby-girl," Hugh called over to Tilly as he left their bedroom.

"Morning," she replied and frowned, "where's daddy?"

"He's getting a shower before work. Me, you and your tutor today." Tilly relaxed a little, going back to her cartoons. "Arm still itchy?" He asked as she scratched absently. She nodded, and he told her to go get the cream for it. He applied it, inspecting the area a little. The redness was fading which was a good sign.

Paul left their room, his hair still damp from the shower as he joined them at the table. Hugh washed the cream from his hands and they ate and ran through their days. Tilly's tutor would be ready for her in just over an hour, Michael was going on the mission so Tilly couldn't jog around the ship with her to cover Phys-Ed, so Hugh agreed to do it. Then they'd have lunch before her afternoon lessons. Paul was going to be back late due to the mission, so he kissed them both goodbye and left hesitantly. It wasn't that he was worried about Hugh, he worried about Siobhan and what she might attempt.

Hugh sat Tilly down to do her hair but when he asked her how she wanted it doing she shrugged. Putting down the brush he scooted onto the floor beside her. "Everything alright?"

"My mom made a comment about my hair yesterday, and she always used to say mean things about it."

"I'm sorry baby," putting and arm around her he turned her to face him. "You wanna know something?" She nodded. "Not everyone will like everything you like, or everything you have. If your mom can't see how beautiful your hair is? Then it's her loss. What matters is do _you_ like it?" Tilly nodded. "Good, because I love it and so does your daddy and your friends." A smile invaded Tilly's face. "Now, hair, how do you want it?"

"High ponytail please."

"Coming right up."

Before Tilly went off with her tutor Hugh briefed her on the updates with her mother. Once alone Hugh cleaned up a little before stretching his legs around the ship. He returned to change into his gym gear ready to go jogging. Tilly showed him how Michael taught her to stretch and lead the way, using the first lap to show him the route they normally took. By lunch Tilly was doing better than Hugh was, which he would freely admit. However, in his defence, he didn't do this every other day.

Leaving Tilly with her tutor for her afternoon sessions Hugh showered and got down to catching up on the paperwork side of being a Doctor. He received a COMM after a few hours of work from Saru, Siobhan was requesting to see Tilly again that evening. He replied that he would ask her, but he wouldn't push for it, which Saru understood and relayed. Tilly was willing to see her mother again, on the grounds Hugh stayed with her through it.

They went to the room Saru had set up again, Siobhan was already there and Saru introduced her to Hugh. Hugh sat back, letting Siobhan talk to Tilly. Tilly complied with the meeting nervously, afraid to say something that might make her mother want to take her away from the Discovery. Hugh called the session to an end for dinner, which Tilly asked if they could eat at home, preventing Siobhan from joining them. Which he suspected was deliberate. He did his best to avoid asking about Siobhan by asking about what she'd learned with her tutor, but his curiosity got the better of him.

"What did your mom want to talk about? You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"She told me about her teaching job and how I could go with her if I wanted to." Hugh's face remained neutral, or he tried to. "I told her I don't, and I want to stay, but if my dreams are real I don't know if she'll listen to me." She told him sadly.

"You know if you don't want to go your daddy won't allow it. Try not to worry about it too much," he assured her. They read together before bed, taking turns to read a page at a time. Paul returned as he tucked her in and he filled him in on the meeting with Siobhan. "I assured her you won't let her go if she doesn't want to, but she didn't seem wholly convinced," he explained. "How'd your mission go?"

"Really well, we got all the samples collected, the crop is looking amazing and it compares well to the ones we have in the Cultivation-Bay."

One night, a few weeks later, when Paul was working late, and Hugh was with Lindsay, Michael and Tilly were reading her _Alice in Wonderland_ book. This was their third read-through of the book. Michael had tracked down a couple of different books for her 7th birthday but they were already into Alice when that date came around. Tilly was eager to move onto one of her new books, but she insisted on finishing Alice first. Michael had gotten her _Peter Pan_, _Charlotte's Web_ and _The Hobbit_. Hugh and Paul managed to track down _Matilda_, _Madeline: The Complete Collection_ and _A Little Princess_. Tilly now had a small bookshelf which she cherished.

They stopped at the end of the chapter and Tilly put her book away. "Everything alright?" Michael asked, "you don't seem yourself."

"My mom is still trying to get me to leave Discovery, it's all she wants to talk about now." Tilly sighed, "I know she wants me to go, but I'm happy here. But she won't let it go."

"I'm sorry Tilly, have you spoken to your dads?"

"I want to, but I don't want them to be mad. When she's not talking about it it's nice, but then she ruins it."

"I think the best thing to do would be to talk to them. They wouldn't get mad, they'll talk to her, like the adult she is. What would you like to do now?"

"Can we go for a jog?"

"Sure, go change." Michael changed into her gym kit and they warmed up before heading out.

Tilly loved going jogging around the ship, it gave her time to think and right now she had a lot to think about. All the times she pictured her mom coming back she imagined a happy reunion, not the one she'd had. In her dreams she remembered craving her mother's attention but never getting it, now she didn't need it because she already had two parents who loved her and gave her the time and attention she'd always craved.

Once she felt sufficiently worn out from jogging Tilly called their session and they returned home. Tilly changed for bed and Michael tucked her in when she was ready to go to sleep. Paul returned not long after, asking how Tilly had been. Michael told him about Tilly's concerns with her mother, Paul sighed, frustrated. It was clear it wasn't the first time. "Thanks for letting me know Michael, could you hang around a little longer, I'm gonna go talk to her now, while I'm still mad because clearly talking like calm adults is getting nowhere." Paul made his way to Siobhan's guest quarters on the deck below. "We need to talk." He said firmly, as soon as the door opened. She moved aside, and he walked in. "You need to stop trying to convince Tilly to leave with you. She's said no, respect that and move on, because honestly, she'd enjoy her time with you so much more if you just did things together. That's all she ever wanted the first time around. The constant talking about how much fun she'll have on Earth is just upsetting her and if it continues I'll ask them to remove you from Discovery."

"Is that a threat, Paul?"

"No, it's a promise for my daughter." Without another word Paul passed her and walked out of the quarters.

It was a few days later when Paul and Hugh were summoned before Captain Saru. Siobhan was there, looking a little bit too happy with herself. "Gentlemen, please, come sit," Saru gestured to the table and chairs in the ready-room. Paul and Hugh sat beside each other, across from Siobhan and at a right angle to the Captain. "It is my duty to inform you both that Ms Tilly has put in a transfer of guardianship request over Tilly and Star Fleet has decided to consider it, as these vessels were not intended for families." Paul and Hugh could see that Saru was not happy with this himself. "If it is put in place then Tilly will leave the Discovery and you will have visitation when we are on and around Earth."

"This is ridiculous. Siobhan, Tilly told you she didn't want to leave."

"She's a child, I'm her mother and I know what's best for her." Hugh put a hand on Paul's arm, insisting he hold his tongue.

Saru chose this moment to interrupt, "Star Fleet is sending representatives to make an informed decision. They have requested that until a decision is made, Tilly should stay with a third party, to prevent any coercion and will have monitored nightly contact with each of you." He turned to Hugh and Paul, "I'm sorry," he told them, and they knew he was sincere.

"Who will she be staying with?" Hugh asked.

"Both parties may put forward candidates." Siobhan told them, "and the other may approve or disapprove." Siobhan sounded smug, Paul took a deep breath through his teeth and exhaled slowly.

"Very well," he agreed.

They debated for nearly an hour. Siobhan was not as familiar with their crew, but she knew who Paul's close friends were, and she vetoed all of them. Her first suggestion was Ash Tyler, who she knew from Section 31. Paul immediately said 'no' to him. Tilly remembered that he had killed Hugh as Voq, information she had learned from a recent dream and it had put her ill-at-ease around him. Tyler had thankfully not taken offense to her unease.

Paul pinched the bridge of his nose, Hugh dragged his hands over his face in frustration. They were getting nowhere. Saru also looked frustrated, Siobhan asked for profiles on their relationship with anyone they suggested. If she deemed them too close, she said no. Saru excused himself briefly to the bridge, returning to find them as he left them. "Perhaps," he began as Paul and Hugh thought, "I might make a suggestion. Helmsmen Detmer and Lieutenant Owosekun worked closely with Tilly when she worked on the bridge, they were close outside of work and they were not known to be close with either Commander Stamets or Dr Culber. Would this suffice?" He looked to Siobhan as she considered.

"Send me their profiles and I'll consider them." Siobhan said. Saru looked to Hugh and Paul. They indicated that they would be happy with this arrangement. They watched Siobhan peruse the profiles Saru had sent her. She closed the PADD and gave her verdict. "I agree. She can stay with them, but any sign of coercion and I'll call in Section 31, and they'll send someone, whether you approve or not."

The hard part came that evening when Hugh and Paul had to explain what was happening to Tilly and hand her over to their crewmates. Tilly suspected something was wrong as soon as her tutor dropped her off. Both her dads were never home when she would get back. They asked her to sit with them. "What is it?" Tilly asked.

"You know how your mom wanted you to go with her to Earth?"

"Like she'll let me forget?"

"Well, she's asked Star Fleet to make that choice and until they do, you aren't allowed to stay with us. You have to stay with other people, but you're still going to be doing school and sessions with Lindsay. And you'll see us every day. You just won't be able to sleep in your room."

"But I don't want to go," Tilly protested. Paul looked like his heart was about to break, Hugh stepped in.

"We know baby-girl, believe us, we do. We don't think they'll make you go," Hugh brushed her hair behind her ears, "but until they decide we don't have a choice. If we don't do as they say they might make you go. We have to do what they ask, and they'll listen to what we have to say. Alright? We do what they ask, and you should be back with us before we know it." As Hugh spoke, Tilly's emotions got the better of her and she had started crying, she clung to Hugh and Paul held them both, until she calmed.

"Where will I be staying?" She asked, her voice shaking.

"You're going to be staying in a different family quarters on a lower deck, you'll be with Keyla and Joann, who you used to work with on the Bridge." Tilly nodded, she remembered them well from her dreams and she had seen them many times since the incident.

"When do I have to go?" Tilly asked sadly.

"After dinner. Your things have already been moved and we'll walk you down there ourselves."

They ate in silence, Tilly mostly pushing her food around her plate until her hunger got the better of her. They walked together to the quarters she would be staying in with Joann and Keyla. Paul knocked, they were all invited in. Keyla and Joann had been briefed thoroughly by Saru as to how Star Fleet wanted to handle this situation. They returned to the main bedroom to finish unpacking some of their uniforms, leaving the door open as Paul and Hugh said goodbye to Tilly.

Hugh hugged her first, holding her tightly, whispering reassurances in her ear. Paul hugged her next, he didn't say much, only reminded her that this wasn't forever, and they would see each other every day. Tilly watched the doors close behind them and retreated to what was her room. Her things had been unpacked, near identical to how she kept her own room. Bowie was sat at her pillow. Changing into her pjs, Tilly took down one of her new books and opened it. Sitting on her bed she began reading _Madeline_, one of the books her fathers had given her. Making it through the first short story, Tilly closed the book, not feeling as though she had taken in much of the story. She put it back on her shelf and sat back with Bowie, if she were with her dads it would have been movie night. Why couldn't her mom just see that she was happy here? Someone knocked on her door and she called them in.

Keyla entered and perched on the edge of her bed. "Hey Tilly, how're you feeling?"

"Sad, I miss my daddies already."

"I'm sorry sweetie. Is there anything you'd like to do before bed?"

"No thank you. Not tonight. Could you please tuck me in?"

"Of course." Keyla pulled back the covers and tucked Tilly into bed. Tilly laid on her side, facing the wall and didn't fall asleep for at least an hour after she'd been tucked in.

Tilly's tutor picked her up for her lessons the next morning and her guardians went to their shift on the Bridge. That day Paul made the jump to pick up the Star Fleet representatives who would make a possibly life-changing choice for his daughter. He, Hugh and Siobhan met up with them to discuss the case.

"Finally, is there anything we should be aware of, personal to Tilly?"

Paul spoke up, "she has allergic reactions to certain fabrics, so you'll need to wear the provided clothes before coming into contact with her. And there's something else we should discuss with you privately." Siobhan was asked to step outside so Paul could disclose Tilly's code-word. "She has a code-word. It's a phrase we came up with, that she can bring up in conversation, to let us know when she feels uncomfortable in a situation and would like to leave. We made it before her first meeting with Siobhan because of how nervous and scared she was. If you're supervising contact, you should know what it is. It's 'Grape Gum.'"

The meeting was called to an end and contact times were set, she would see Siobhan first, then Paul and Hugh. They could spend their time together anywhere on the ship and do any appropriate activity. Hugh and Paul would then drop her off, back with Keyla and Joann or with Lindsay.

Tilly's tutor brought her to the agreed upon contact meeting place. A Star Fleet representative was waiting with Siobhan, Paul and Hugh. After an enthusiastic greeting, Paul explained to Tilly the arrangement and whispered to remind her about her code-word. "We'll see you later, OK?"

"OK daddy," Tilly hugged him and stepped closer to her mother, who reached for her hand. Tilly didn't reciprocate the gesture, she intended to make it clear how she felt about the current situation and how upset she was with her mother. Siobhan and Tilly spent time together in their usual room, Tilly selected games to play, it was going nicely until Siobhan brought up her teaching job again. The representative saw Tilly physically deflate when her mother brought up the topic of leaving Discovery.

Paul and Hugh returned after two hours for their time with Tilly. Tilly hugged them both tightly and they asked her what she'd like to do. "Are we at Warp?"

"Not right now." Paul informed her.

"Can we go to the observation dome and just hang out?"

"Sure, do you want to bring anything with us?"

"The blankets, pillows and the book we started reading last time." Paul went to get the blanket from their couch and Hugh took Tilly to pick up their book from her new room. He waited outside with the Star Fleet rep while she went in, to preserve her guardian's privacy. Tilly returned with _Peter Pan_ and her hair supplies. "Could you put my hair up in that way it can stay for days too? It was hard to brush this morning."

"Sure baby-girl, come on, let's go meet your daddy."

In the observation dome Hugh did Tilly's hair while they read _Peter Pan_ together. After this they watched the stars until the rep told them they had to take Tilly to Lindsay for her session. Arriving at Lindsay's office Tilly said a long goodbye to Paul and Hugh, who reminded her they would be able to spend more time together the next day.

In her session with Lindsay they spoke about the new development with her mother and how Tilly felt about it. Mainly, she felt frustrated as her mother was trying to take her away from her dads and not listening to what she was saying. "What do you want out of this experience Tilly?"

"I want everything to go back to normal. I want to stay with my dads and I want my mom to let me stay on Discovery. I don't want to go back to Earth and I don't want to live with my mom. I hate that she won't listen." They explored her feelings before moving onto nicer memories and what she was looking forward to with her fathers.

That evening Tilly ate dinner with Keyla and Joann, in a much better mood than she had been the night before. After dinner they decided to re-introduce her to a game they used to play together, Kadis-Kot. It helped take her mind off her day and Tilly seemed a natural at it, almost like she knew it by muscle memory. They promised that if she was able to stay on Discovery she could come play with them and her other old friends in the rec rooms, provided it was OK with her dads.

The Star Fleet representatives collected information from all the people involved in Tilly's case. They spoke to Paul, Hugh and Siobhan, separately as parents, they spoke with Tilly where she told them exactly what she wanted. They asked Lindsay and her tutor for their professional opinions and they spoke to Keyla and Joann about Tilly's behaviour while in their care.

It took them a month to come to the decision that Tilly should remain with Paul and Hugh as her primary care-givers. When Siobhan was able to get leave, she could come and see Tilly, but otherwise, Tilly would not be living with Siobhan on Earth.

Tilly was in a session with Lindsay when her parents were given the verdict. Lindsay could tell Tilly was full of anxiety and so turned their session into colouring and casual talking, to help her relax. Paul and Hugh were waiting outside the office when her session was over. Tilly looked at the smiles on their faces. "I get to stay?"

"You get to stay," Paul told her. Tilly ran at her dads, Paul swept her into his arms and hugged her tightly before she reached to Hugh to hug him also. Tilly stayed with her temporary guardians one more night as they were taking her to play Kadis-Kot with some of her old friends.

Until she left to take up her teaching position, Siobhan was able to remain on Discovery and see Tilly on their old schedule: a few hours every few days. The Discovery was going to deliver Siobhan back to Earth and out of respect, Paul had declined to jump them there right away, to give Siobhan some more time with Tilly.

The day started like most days on Discovery. Tilly woke first and got her own breakfast from the replicator, to be joined by Paul and Hugh later. She had her morning lessons with her tutor, Phys-ed with Michael then lunch with Paul who met her for his break. After lunch he took her to Siobhan at the observation deck. Since Siobhan had dropped the subject of her leaving for Earth, Tilly had been enjoying time with her mother more and more. "You have two hours before she needs to be back for her afternoon tutoring," Paul reminded Siobhan. "Bye sweetheart," he kissed Tilly's cheek and went back to work.

Tilly and Siobhan spent some time in the observation deck before the shutters needed to close so they could jump using the Spore Drive, as something had come up Earth-side and Siobhan's presence was required in person. Siobhan got them hot chocolates from the rec-room and they sat together talking about how Siobhan was leaving soon and how much she would miss hanging out with Tilly. As they talked, Tilly began to feel funny, everything started going dark, she tried calling out for her mom and her dads, but her voice wasn't working.

Paul stepped out of the Cube feeling invigorated, as he usually did after a jump. The spores revitalised his mixed DNA, refreshing him after each jump. He went over the read-outs with Michael, before zipping up his sleeves to get into some maintenance on the Spore Drive. His COMM chirped at him as he reconnected a panel. Answering it he was met with the voice of Tilly's tutor telling him she hadn't turned up for their sessions. He said her mom probably lost track of time, but when he tried to contact Siobhan, he got no response.

He made his way to Sick-Bay, wondering if they had dropped in to see Hugh, he'd not seen them all day. Paul was growing concerned, the final straw was when they found Siobhan's empty quarters, she'd packed her things and she and Tilly were gone.

Discovery had docked at a star-base that did shuttles to Earth. She had known her time on Discovery was coming to an end as her teaching commitments drew nearer. What nobody realised was she intended to take Tilly with her whether Paul gave his consent or not. Paul hadn't had a hand in raising Tilly the first time, so what gave him the right to demand that time now, when Siobhan was finally available to shower her daughter with love and attention? Nothing did. She slipped half a sleeping pill into Tilly's hot chocolate and waited for it to take effect. She made comments about how tired she must have been then carried her back to her room where her things were already packed. She had a friend planet-side who had gotten clothes made with Tilly's requirements in mind and had a personal transporter from her time with Section 31, capable of beaming them onto the station undetected. Tilly would be asleep the whole journey to Earth, or that was the plan.

Panic was setting in for Paul as a ship-wide search turned up no sign of Siobhan or Tilly. Michael contacted Georgiou to ask if Siobhan had been able to keep anything from her time in Section 31. Georgiou gave them a list as well as the trace codes for each device. The codes got them as far as a location on the star-base, a scan of which revealed Siobhan and Tilly were no longer on-board.

Saru alerted Star Fleet to the incident, allowing Paul, Hugh, Michael and some security to beam directly down to Earth. They were received by Star Fleet where an Admiral and the head of campus security were waiting for them. They were briefed with pictures of Siobhan and Tilly. According to the shuttle-port their shuttle hadn't arrived yet, but it was close. Security officers were in plain-clothes so not to alarm Siobhan or Tilly. The shuttle was closing in on its' destination, as it did, Paul and Hugh grew nervous.

Tilly felt groggy as she opened her eyes, groaning. "Daddy?" She asked, voice hoarse.

"Hey sleepyhead, you're finally up," Tilly whipped her head around and laid eyes on her mother.

"Where are we? Where's daddy?"

"He's back on Discovery baby, don't you remember? You're coming to stay with me for a while?"

"N-no."

"Well me and your father decided it would be good for you, now don't cry, we're almost at the shuttle-port." Siobhan dried her daughter's tears and returned her attention to the announcements. Taking out her transporter she keyed in a location in the shuttle-port, "hold tight," she said, taking Tilly's arm and her bag.

Tilly stumbled as they landed in the shuttle-port. Siobhan would have preferred to beam all the way to her apartment, but her device had a limited range and was low on charge. Looking around she found directions to the busses for Star Fleet Campus and lead Tilly in that direction.

"_Commander Stamets, be advised, Siobhan has jumped from the shuttle and is now in the shuttle-port."_

"Thank you, Captain," Stamets relayed this information to the team on the ground to be on the look-out for Tilly and Siobhan.

Tilly was resisting her mother's pull. She knew her daddy wouldn't have decided something like this without consulting her or giving her a heads up. She was sure she saw people she recognised, this was confirmed when she saw Michael and Ash Tyler. They appeared alert and scanning the crowd. "Michael!" She called, pulling harder from her mother. Her hand slipped out of her mother's grasp, only for Siobhan to take her wrist tighter than before. She called out again, getting Michael's attention. She and Ash made their way over, phasers raised at Siobhan. Ash spoke into his communicator, more people came towards them, Siobhan didn't loosen her grip and it was beginning to hurt.

Tilly's mind flicked back to when they were on shore-leave to a pep-talk Hugh had given her.

"_While we're here I want you to know, if someone other than us tries to take you somewhere all good behaviour is out the window. Understand? You kick, you scream and you do what you can to get away from someone. OK?"_

"_Hugh," Paul had said._

"_You say that now but lots of Earth kids go missing in these markets. As a medical professional in Star Fleet I know this more than most, so I thought that I should warn her. Also, as a concerned papa. Now, Tilly, understand?"_

"_I kick, I scream and I make a scene."_

"_Good girl," Hugh praised, pulling her sun-hat onto her head. _

Tilly took a breath, this went against everything she wanted to do, but she had to draw enough attention to make her mother let go. Taking a deep breath, Tilly opened her mouth and _screamed_. She screamed loudly. When her mother put a hand over her mouth and stood behind her, Tilly took her chance, she bit down on her hand and stamped her foot as hard as she could onto Siobhan's. It worked, Siobhan pushed her away and she ran at Michael and Ash. Michael pushed her behind her and Ash, keeping their phasers focused on Siobhan as she was arrested.

Tilly turned as she heard her name. "Daddy!" Tilly ran from Michael at her dads. Paul fell to his knees to catch her in his arms. Hugh knelt beside them, arms around them both. Suddenly, Tilly pushed back from them, looking pale, "I feel sick," she mumbled. Fortunately, they were near-enough a trash can for Hugh to get her there in time. Paul pulled her hair back, rubbing her back as Hugh held her up. Setting her down on a bench Hugh pulled out his tri-corder to scan her.

"Do you remember what happened?" Paul asked her.

"We were having hot chocolate and then I started feeling sleepy. Then I woke up on the shuttle."

"Scan's are consistent with sleeping medication," Hugh confirmed. Michael and Ash approached, reporting Siobhan was in custody.

Star Fleet took a recorded statement from Tilly then allowed them to return to Discovery where Tilly was taken swiftly to Sick-Bay, where she was kept in overnight, to keep an eye on her for adverse effects. She was released the next day and that evening Paul and Hugh didn't even fight Tilly's request to sleep between them, they were just so happy to have her back. As they feared, Tilly became rather clingy over the next few days which they had anticipated. Lindsay agreed to see her more to talk about what had happened. They talked about her ordeal and how it made her feel.

Tilly told Lindsay she felt conflicted about everything. She didn't know who she could trust anymore. Her mother had destroyed her trust in new people. Her dads she trusted, Dr Pollard, her tutor and Lindsay she trusted, Michael and even Ash she knew she could trust. Others however made her nervous.

At Lindsay's advice Hugh and Paul started pushing her a little. Getting her just out of her comfort zone to start getting her confidence back. They started with time in the observation dome, which worked well, as it was one of the less-populated areas on the ship. Next, they moved onto dinner in the Mess. This took a little longer, but the more of their friends who joined them the more at ease Tilly became. Slowly, over weeks and months Tilly started feeling more like the Tilly she had been before.

Star Fleet had decided to put in a restraining order, Siobhan wasn't allowed on the Discovery or anywhere they were docked until Tilly was 18 – unless a meeting was instigated by Tilly herself. She'd spoken about it with Lindsay and thought maybe some day in the future she would reach out, but she definitely needed time before she even considered that. For now, she was content exploring space with her fathers, spending her days learning with her tutor, jogging with Michael and playing cards with her friends. Tilly was glad that everything was back to normal and back to the way it was supposed to be.


End file.
